Contemporary Homes (Exteriors)

1. Kloof 145 House in Cape Town by SAOTA

The house is designed to reinstate the qualities of its surrounding natural landscape with the top part expressed as a green terrace and braai area, the lower part expressed as a “heavy stone plinth,” and all the levels of the house connected by a sculptural timber staircase.

10. Dichotomous Living-Garden House in Katowice by Robert Konieczny – KWK Promes

Huge contemporary house features a fascinating mirrored architecture reflecting the expansive lawn and providing an illusion of larger space. The rest of the walls is built with bricks and glass windows.

Contemporary Landscaping

Contemporary pool landscaping with wood and concrete privacy fence as well as tall trees and plants.

What is Contemporary Interior Design Style?

If you’re looking for a style that’s casual and clean as well, a contemporary interior design style may be just what you are looking for. This minimalist style has a little bit of everything for novices and experts interior designers alike and includes lots of natural light and provides you with something a little closer to modern style and eclectic without sacrificing too much of the basic style that you otherwise like. This is where you find a whole lot of intriguing designs with your furniture, the colors, and styles of materials and a whole lot more. It’s mostly based on styles from the later 20th century and has softer lines to go along with each of the different aspects. What you’ll really find, however, is something that’s just the right mix of modern and base functionality, which definitely adds some benefits to your household.

Distinguishing Design Features

A contemporary home style is actually quite clean and basic. It has more neutral colors like white and gray along with open space and plenty of neutral styles and elements to go along with it. You’ll also find clean lines and a casual style to this, which is all inspired by nature. It can still be a balance of sleek style, casual aspects and an eclectic accent to go along with it all. Ideally, contemporary styles are still very comfortable at the same time and use simple patterns if any actual pattern at all. Typically, they only have solid color pieces in those base colors that will work well with a variety of other styles and accents if you choose to mix and match your options.

Materials

The fabrics in this design style are all-natural as well. In fact, the contemporary style features silks, wool, cotton, and linen. These materials add some texture as well as bringing beautiful colors into the mix. Though the basic aspects of the style are plain colors you may find some geometric patterns in things like throw blankets and even pillows. That way you’re going to have a little bit of accent to go along with other things in the contemporary style. Textures are the main way to do just that since you’re not going to see a whole lot else, but you’ll see all of this reflected in the overall design and layout of the room and the style of the pieces that are put inside it.

Furniture

Contemporary furniture is usually made with straight lines and smooth surfaces to go along with it. Everything is silhouetted in slim but not too thin lines and uses plain styles. You won’t find carvings or other accents on these types of pieces, but you will find some light-colored wood here. Mainly the furniture is made with maple or birch in its natural form, meaning with grain lines (though faint) and natural imperfections. You’ll also find glass in both frosted and clear styles, as well as metals like stainless steel, nickel, and chrome.

Décor Accessories

Décor for the contemporary style is used simply as an accent on the already established designs. That means you’ll find lamps that are straight and stylish, with sleek aspects rather than a lot of accents or curves. You will definitely find a lot more of the same from the materials and furniture including neutral colors and metallic finishes to go along. Generally, you’ll find some track lighting that helps get your attention right where it’s wanted, typically in places where you can see artwork or other special decorative aspects. All of them will generally have these same aspects and designs to match.

For the most part, décor for this type of room is going to be focused on floor lamps and art pieces, though you may easily find some other accents including side tables and chairs throughout the rooms. This is to help lend a little more comfortable design to space. You’ll also find a lot more open space in these rooms than you will in a lot of other design styles because that minimalism is actually part of the appeal of this interior design style. It tends to add to the feel of nature and the elements that are brought in by the basic aspects of the look.

Why it Looks Great

So why exactly does the contemporary style look so great? Well, it’s actually a combination of a number of different things. You’ll love the sleek styles and the straight lines that are iconic with this style. You’ll also love the more neutral colors and the natural fabrics that go along with it all. With design elements that go along with the base style, you’re definitely going to love the casual and comfortable atmosphere that goes along with this. It has just a little bit of geometric pattern accents (or at least it can) and more clean woods and metals to match.

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